Edmon Armstrong

At age 26, Macomb alumnus Edmon Armstrong has already led a storied career in entertainment, which includes a one-on-one meeting with “Darlene” from TV’s Roseanne and The Conners. More on that later.

It all began with a search for internships. Armstrong was in the process completing three (almost four) degrees at Macomb and wanted to prepare for his transition to the workforce.

“I got one internship from Macomb,” says Armstrong, who then went through the legwork of discovering additional ones on his own. “If you don’t learn how to be by yourself and how to be independent, you’re not going to make it.”

After building up enough experience, Armstrong was hired in to the Disney College Program in Anaheim, California. From there, he set his sights on Los Angeles, where he started performing television background work. In 2017, he landed a job as a Production Assistant (PA) with Reasonable Doubt on Investigation Discovery.

“It just went from there and snowballed,” says Armstrong. “You just need somebody to say ‘yes’ to you one time.” He went on to work for several other network and cable TV shows, including America’s Got Talent and Veep.

The pinnacle of Armstrong’s career journey to date was breaking into scripted television. While he didn’t end up getting the job, he interviewed with Sara Gilbert, executive producer of The Talk. “It was very much one of those heightened weird moments that happen when you’re in Hollywood.”

Behind the scenes, life in LA proved challenging. The cost of living mandated that Armstrong share a living space with as many as 13 people. While he enjoyed the work, the industry’s taxing time commitment also made it difficult to enjoy the exciting experiences that Hollywood can offer. “You don’t see the blood, sweat, tears and the sleepless nights.”

Armstrong returned to Michigan in August for family reasons, and also due to the wildfires. He is currently working as an actor for the Murder Mystery Company, which provides him with the opportunity “to interact with people and have fun.”

On a related note, Armstrong recommends that new Macomb students socialize and “be willing to walk into a club, come into the K Building (South Campus Student and Community Center) and actually see what’s going on.” And, while he believes it’s important to have a clear academic plan, Macomb provides “a place where people can test out the waters in a safe environment that is also going to have some merit, because general studies is everywhere.” In the midst of required classes, Armstrong notes for example that a student may decide to take a Photoshop or speech course, and then discover Macomb’s degree offerings have crossover.

“Something that you may have been just dipping your toe in, you figure out, ‘Oh, I actually do love this,’” says Armstrong. “And then you just go for the rest of the degree, because you’ve already taken one or two classes in it.”